TUG - A Sandbox RPG Going Social

May 13th, 2013, 15:22

According to themselves TUG is a multiplayer open-world sandbox-RPG using new technology and social sciences to directly involve players in the game’s design. They are currently trying to get $215K at Kickstarter and are currently at 98K with 18 days to go.

TUG sits at the crossroads where survival sandbox and multiplayer RPG’s meet, offering both elegant simplicity and a world of complex secrets for those who desire to seek them out. From freezing snow capped mountains to dark dreary caves, TUG offers a massive procedurally-generated world to explore, full of mystery and danger — but what makes TUG truly unique is its ability to help us learn what you as players enjoy about the game, and to use your interactions to make an amazing world even better.
The project draws inspiration from fun, accessible games we love such as Minecraft, Fable, Animal Crossing, and Zelda, as well as games that feature deeply complex worlds, including Eve Online, Monster Hunter, and Dwarf Fortress.
What do we think you’ll like about TUG? Some of the things we’re most excited about include:

Integrated modding support: we won’t just have support for modding tools hooked in from the beginning — we’ll be sharing our tools with modders.

Pets and Companions will join you in your travels and help along the way.

Entire Civilizations lie hidden for you to uncover… or create new ones to conquer the world!

Day, Night, and Seasonal Cycles with perils and opportunities unique to each.

Originally Posted by Drithius
Well, I took a look at their Project and I have to admit that I'm intrigued. Although these guys look like some ragtag bunch of postdoc students along with their faculty, the project's idea is sound:

Free-roaming exploration plus RPG minus statistical numbers garbage of traditional RPGs to get you immersed into the world.

Release Schedule
We will make the first Alpha available to backers in that tier in July of 2013. With time to play, share, and interact, we will add more features and reset priority lists based on feedback. Beginning in January of 2014, we will have the Beta phase of the project available to backers in that tier. And by January 2015, we will prepare for an official launch of TUG to the public, and continue to update and refine for as long as the community is enjoying it. All other tier rewards will be sent out as they become available over the course of development (and as soon as possible), but do forgive us if we fall a bit behind.

I am curious of seeing what allowing players from the alpha stage delivers. Especially for projects that lean to originality. The constant pressure of players wishing for the same is going to be hard to sustain.

I don't get what they're saying. Is the game dynamic and somehow you influence it why you're playing? Are they going to ask modders and scientists what to put into the game while developing it? Everything sounds very vague, but maybe it's my grasp on English language that is failing me.

Originally Posted by teije
Interesting project pushing some boundaries and I wish them luck. I'm too anti-social to back anything MMO however.

note that in the FAQ they state:

Will the game have a single-player mode?

Yes, absolutely! All of the content available in multiplayer will also be available in singleplayer. This includes crafting, lore, exploration, companions, building, survival, NPCs, etc. There won't be any kind of "campaign" with a definite ending, but there will definitely be tons of incentives to explore and progress!

— I dont dislike people - I just like them better when theyre not around

Originally Posted by xSamhainx
Awful name tho, they really should reconsider that.

Agreed - though after further reading I found out that it stands for "The Untitled Game". In an interview they were saying they ultimately want the players to decide the name. I still think they should come up with something more interesting or descriptive though.

Originally Posted by Myrkrel
Agreed - though after further reading I found out that it stands for "The Untitled Game". In an interview they were saying they ultimately want the players to decide the name. I still think they should come up with something more interesting or descriptive though.